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LitePay will be one of the biggest developments in cryptocurrency in 2018, with its impact rippling out far beyond Litecoin.
The announcement from LitePay Inc. late Monday (Feb. 12) that the service will go live Feb. 26 was a prime catalyst in pushing the Litecoin price as much as 37% higher over the next few days.
Related: Why Did Charlie Lee Sell All His Litecoins?
But even that reaction understates what LitePay will mean for Litecoin and the role cryptocurrencies are destined to play in the global economy.
This is a genuine turning point...
What Is LitePay?
Basically, LitePay is a way to spend Litecoin just about anywhere you can use a credit or debit card.
Customers start by ordering a card from the LitePay website. When the LitePay card arrives in the mail, the customer activates it on the LitePay website and creates a cardholder account. Then the customer transfers the Litecoin they want to spend to that account.
The LitePay card is linked to that account. When the account is funded, the card is ready to use as you would any other pre-paid credit card.
And get this - you can use the LitePay card almost anywhere, because it works with the vast Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) network.
When used, the card converts the Litecoin amount to the merchant's local currency. The payment is sent instantly to the merchant's bank from the user's LitePay account. According to the LitePay website, the system is available in 41 countries and works with multiple currencies, including U.S. dollars, euros and British pounds.
LitePay makes it much easier for Litecoin owners to spend their cryptocurrency, but there's a lot for merchants to like as well.
The Cryptocurrency Everyone Else Will Regret Not Owning: To See Tom Gentile's No. 1 Crypto Pick and Exactly How to Trade It, Click Here Now
For one thing, LitePay does the currency conversion instantly, removing any risk the merchant would have to account for Litecoin price fluctuations. The instant transfer of money is also appealing, as cryptocurrency payments typically involve delays of several minutes or even hours.
But best of all, a LitePay transaction carries a fee of just 1% - about half the interchange fee that Visa and Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) charge merchants. That could tempt merchants to encourage the use of LitePay over conventional credit cards.
Here's why this is such a big deal and will have a dramatic impact on the entire cryptocurrency sector...
Why LitePay Will Push Many Cryptocurrency Prices Higher
About the Author
David Zeiler, Associate Editor for Money Morning at Money Map Press, has been a journalist for more than 35 years, including 18 spent at The Baltimore Sun. He has worked as a writer, editor, and page designer at different times in his career. He's interviewed a number of well-known personalities - ranging from punk rock icon Joey Ramone to Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Over the course of his journalistic career, Dave has covered many diverse subjects. Since arriving at Money Morning in 2011, he has focused primarily on technology. He's an expert on both Apple and cryptocurrencies. He started writing about Apple for The Sun in the mid-1990s, and had an Apple blog on The Sun's web site from 2007-2009. Dave's been writing about Bitcoin since 2011 - long before most people had even heard of it. He even mined it for a short time.
Dave has a BA in English and Mass Communications from Loyola University Maryland.
I do not understand a dam thing that you are writing about.
The inconvenience of this card for American users is that the IRS requires you to know the dollar amount you paid for the Litecoin deposited in the account, and then their dollar value at the moment you spend them so they can account for your capital gains. Not sure the card will reveal these stats for you and give you a nice statement at the end of the year, but if not, it's an accounting nightmare!